Risk Factors for Suicidality Among a Nationally Representative Sample of High School Students

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Epstein ◽  
Anthony Spirito
2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Reinhardt ◽  
Kristen Clements-Nolle ◽  
Wei Yang

The impact of family military involvement on adolescent mental health and substance abuse is well established, but little is known about other behavioral health outcomes such as physical fighting. We assessed the relationship between family military involvement and physical fighting in a representative sample of 3,928 high school students. Weighted logistic regression was used to determine whether adolescents from military families had higher odds of fighting and fighting on school property compared with adolescents of non-military families after controlling for demographics, substance use, depressive symptoms, and bullying victimization. We also assessed the cumulative impact of multiple risk factors on fighting outcomes. Overall, 23.5% of high school students reported physical fighting and 7.0% reported physical fighting at school. Youth from military families had higher odds of physical fighting (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] = 1.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.27, 2.25]) and physical fighting on school property (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI = [1.16, 3.39]). In models stratified by gender, family military involvement remained independently associated with physical fighting and physical fighting at school for males (AOR = 1.74; 95% CI = [1.15, 2.65] and AOR = 2.21; 95% CI = [1.03, 4.74]) and females (AOR = 1.65; 95% CI = [1.11, 2.45] and AOR = 1.88; 95% CI = [1.01, 3.50]). The odds of engaging in each physical fighting outcome increased as the cumulative number of risk factors increased. School-based interventions aimed at addressing fighting should be tailored to fit the unique needs of adolescents in military families, particularly those with additional risk factors.


Author(s):  
Grace Wei ◽  
Jeffrey Farooq ◽  
Leslie Castelo-soccio ◽  
Rahul Mhaskar

Background: Physical activity is associated with greater odds of sunburn in adults, increasing harmful sun exposure and skin cancer risk. The authors sought to investigate parallel associations between sunburn and physical activity among US high school students. Methods: The authors examined pooled cross-sectional data from the 2015 and 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. A nationally representative sample of 21,894 US high school students who responded to the sunburn question was included. Results: Prevalence of sunburn was 56.6% between 2015 and 2017. Sunburn prevalence was higher in physically active students (88.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 86.7%–90.0%; P < .0001) and student athletes (63.0%; 95% CI, 59.4%–66.7%; P < .0001). Among male students who were vigorously physically active (≥5 d) or on ≥3 teams, the odds of sunburn were 2.33 (95% CI, 1.81–3.00; P < .0001) and 2.52 (95% CI, 1.96–3.23; P < .0001), respectively. Among female students who were vigorously physically active (≥5 d) or on ≥3 teams, the odds of sunburn were 1.65 (95% CI, 1.36–2.02; P < .0001) and 2.92 (95% CI, 2.07–4.13; P < .0001), respectively. Conclusions: Many US high school students are affected by sunburn, and the odds of sunburn are elevated during physical activity and team sports participation. Efforts are needed to improve sun safety regulations, education, and resources for youth during school and physical activity.


Sexual Abuse ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin W. Patchin ◽  
Sameer Hinduja

Sextortion is the threatened dissemination of explicit, intimate, or embarrassing images of a sexual nature without consent, usually for the purpose of procuring additional images, sexual acts, money, or something else. Despite increased public interest in this behavior, it has yet to be empirically examined among adolescents. The current study fills this gap by exploring the prevalence of sextortion behaviors among a nationally representative sample of 5,568 U.S. middle and high school students. Approximately 5% of students reported that they had been the victim of sextortion, while about 3% admitted to threatening others who had shared an image with them in confidence. Males and nonheterosexual youth were more likely to be targeted, and males were more likely to target others. Moreover, youth who threatened others with sextortion were more likely to have been victims themselves. Implications for future research, as well as the preventive role that youth-serving professionals can play, are discussed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document